FINAL PERFORMANCES OF PRINCIPAL DANCER AND STAR BALLERINA PATRICIA DELGADO

Miami City Ballet Principal Dancer Patricia Delgado has announced she will step down as a permanent member of the company to pursue other artistic opportunities after the 2016-17 season

Final Performances During Program Four At All Home Venues

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – (March 14, 2017) – Miami City Ballet Principal Dancer Patricia Delgado has announced she will step down as a permanent member of the company to pursue other artistic opportunities after the 2016-17 season ends in April and will give her final performances during MCB’s Program Four. Before taking her final bows, she will be dancing in Divertimento No. 15 and Who Cares? – a ballet Delgado describes as very meaningful to her as it was the first ballet she performed as a full-fledged company member. The Company will pay special tribute to her at the final performance of the season on Sunday, April 9 at the Broward Center in Ft. Lauderdale.

Delgado says, “I am overwhelmed with gratitude for a career that is more than I ever dreamed of – from my time as a student at Miami City Ballet School, to the growth I’ve felt physically and emotionally through my years with the company. I’ve been inspired daily by all of the driven, uniquely individual and beautiful dancers I’ve danced side by side with; by the patient, giving and loving partners I’ve been so lucky to have danced with; by the hardworking staff, the gift of live music, the doctors and the physical therapy team that keep us all dancing; by every devoted répétiteur and choreographer who I’ve been so fortunate to work with; and by the endless support of all those who believed in me. And last but not least, a heartfelt “Thank you” to Edward Villella and to Lourdes Lopez. I feel so full in my heart and I am so excited to pursue this next phase of my life. I will treasure the countless memories I’ve experienced at Miami City Ballet forever. This art form has made me who I am today and I’m curious and open to see what the future holds!” Delgado plans to move to New York City to pursue other creative and artistic opportunities.

MCB Artistic Director Lourdes Lopez reflects, “Patricia is among that rare breed of artist who captivates in everything from the Balanchine works that form the foundation of Miami City Ballet’s repertory, to the classical full-lengths, to the new contemporary works by today’s top choreographers. She brings to every role an inner radiance, refinement and musicality that is all her own and embodies everything she does on the stage and off with grace. To watch her dance is to understand why a dancer needs to dance. We are not saying goodbye to Patti, as we like to call her at MCB. Instead, we are so excited to witness the many ways in which she will continue to contribute to dance in her usual selfless manner.”

Born and raised in Miami, Delgado is the epitome of MCB’s homegrown success – training at MCB School and graduating into the main company where she has spent her 16-year career. Delgado began her dance training in Miami when she was 5 years old with Cuban teachers Vivian Tobio, Liana Navarro and Maria Victoria Gutierrez. When she was 11, she began studying at Miami City Ballet School and spent her summers training in New York City at the School of American Ballet and at American Ballet Theatre.

Delgado remembers her first time performing with MCB was in Stars and Stripes on a company tour to Saratoga, N.Y. in 1998. She was just 16 years old and continued to dance with the company throughout her high school years. In 2000, MCB’s Founding Artistic Director Edward Villella invited her to officially join Miami City Ballet as an apprentice, and he nominated her for the Princess Grace Award. Delgado was promoted to corps de ballet in 2001, soloist in 2005, principal soloist in 2006 and finally to principal dancer in 2007.

Delgado’s varied repertoire with MCB includes lead roles in George Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements, Symphony in C, Allegro Brillante, The Four Temperaments, Duo Concertant and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, among many others; Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun and Dances at a Gathering, among others; Paul Taylor’s Piazzolla Caldera, Twyla Tharp’s NineSinatra Songs and In The Upper Room, Christopher Wheeldon’s Liturgy, and Juliet in John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet. She originated feature roles in Liam Scarlett’s Euphotic and Justin Peck’s Heatscape.

She has toured with Miami City Ballet to The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Fall for Dance at City Center in New York City, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and most recently to the Chicago Dancing Festival and at MCB’s debut at the Koch Theater in New York City’s Lincoln Center in April 2016.

Among her guest artist performances, she danced the role of “Dark Angel” in George Balanchine’s Serenade with New York City Ballet at the 75th Anniversary of the School of American Ballet in 2009. In 2013, she danced “Year of our Lord,” an excerpt from Justin Peck’s Year of the Rabbit at The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow at the Benois de la Danse Gala. She has spent several summers at the Nantucket Atheneum Dance Festival where she created a role in the premiere of Justin Peck’s Seachange, as well as Osso Duet with fellow MCB principal dancer Renan Cerdeiro.

A critical and audience favorite, Delgado was featured on the cover of Pointe magazine’s August/September 2010 issue where Robert Gottlieb, currently the chief dance critic for The New York Observer and MCB Board member, commented, “It’s Patricia’s refinement, repose and allure that instantly grab the audience’s attention, and hold it.” In the same article, Villella extolled, “She’s a total dancer. She can grow in any direction.”